Defense Ministry seizes cryptocurrency, digital wallets allegedly intended to fund Hamas

A visual representation of Bitcoin, at the 'Bitcoin Change' shop in Tel Aviv, February 6, 2018. (Jack Guez/AFP)
A visual representation of Bitcoin, at the 'Bitcoin Change' shop in Tel Aviv, February 6, 2018. (Jack Guez/AFP)

The Defense Ministry says it has seized digital wallets containing currency worth tens of thousands of shekels destined for use by the Hamas terror group.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz approves the seizure of some 30 cryptocurrency wallets belonging to 12 accounts, owned by an exchange company based in the Gaza Strip which has been designated as a terror organization.

The military says Almatahdon, which is owned by the Shamlah family, “assists the Hamas terror group, and especially its military wing, by transferring funds amounting to tens of millions of dollars a year.”

Gantz says in the statement: “We continue to expand the tools to cope with terror and the companies that support it. I commend the organizations involved for their intelligence, operational, and legal cooperation. We will continue to take all the measures necessary to fight terror.”

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